


Curious

by iced_kaytea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claude von Riegan is a Little Shit, Claudeleth, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Frustration, Mentioned Black Eagles Students (Fire Emblem), Mock battle, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Slow Burn, Student My Unit | Byleth, but not super slow, might continue???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-07 07:19:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21211976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iced_kaytea/pseuds/iced_kaytea
Summary: Byleth soon finds herself becoming an object of curiosity to the Golden Deer Leader.Claude just wants to figure out his fellow student.





	Curious

**Author's Note:**

> First time having written a story in actual years, so please take it easy on me ty ty
> 
> Also this is Byleth as a student, so her and Claude are the same age.

She wondered if it was a mistake for her to offer to branch off on her own– the odd number of her group for the mock battle forced them to pair off. Given her previous experience as a mercenary, despite being their age and among their status as a fellow student, the choice became painfully clear after a while that if anyone was going to venture alone, it would be her. 

Not that she minded terribly.

Byleth found herself enjoying the moments of solitude despite the current situation telling her to be in a more serious mindset. But she couldn’t stop herself from appreciating the time away from Caspar’s enthusiastic and-for whatever reason- always yelling volume, or Bernadette who, despite being a gentle and sweet creature that Byleth found very endearing, seemed to react poorly to everything.

Not to mention Ferdinand’s constant self-awareness that he is, in fact, Ferdinand von Aegir.

She came to find that she enjoyed all of her fellow Black Eagles, but this passing moment in time would be fully consumed for the luxury that it was.

The path she took led to a clearing in the forest. She paused briefly, admiring the way the sun shone through the branches, bathing the lush green in a golden light. A small smile settled on her face. 

Her thoughts drifted to the few other students she crossed paths with during the mock battle up to this point.

Which was none.

It was more than a shock to her, she must admit. She quickly mentally counted the total number of students participating in the mock battle between the three houses, their group totalling 25 participants, herself included. The fact that she did not encounter a single soul was not predicted.

That quickly ended at the voice that interrupted her thoughts.

“It’s a nice little spot, isn’t it?”

Byleth spun to find the leader of the Golden Deer leaning against the large body of an oak tree, an arrow twirling idly between his fingers. His eyes were focused down at his hand, not paying her any mind.

“Where did you-” she started, quickly cut off by his own voice slicing through hers.

“Come from?” He completed her thought. He held for a moment before clicking his tongue. “You could say I’ve been around.”

“So you’ve just been hanging out here, in the wide open?”

He laughed at her assertion, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. “Not quite.” He spun the arrow on a single finger briefly before letting it fall back into his hand. “I must admit that I was very taken aback by how not stealthy you are. A surprise really, given your history as a mercenary.”

She felt a thread of irritation settle at the forefront of her mind. “And what exactly are you implying by that?”

Claude smirked, the corners of his lips barely turning upwards. He continued to twirl the arrow in his fingers, redirecting his gaze to the girl. “Following you wasn’t as much of a challenge as I anticipated, that’s what I’m implying.”

Heat crawled up the back of Byleth’s neck. “You followed me?” She hissed under her breath, her hand instinctively landing on the hilt of her sword. The movement did not go unnoticed by the Golden Deer leader. His smirk stretched into a grin.

“Oh yeah, and let me say- you’re very fascinating to watch.” He moved off of the tree, slowly approaching. “You’re very observant and cautious; you took time to keep tabs on the other members of your house before heading out on your own, which I can’t say shocked me.” Claude made a dramatic move of the hand to emphasize his point, the motion drawing a flinch from her.

He stopped his approach, the arrow coming to a pause in his fingers. “But,” he begins, eyes snapping to hers.

“But?” She challenges, despite having a clear idea of what he was going to say.

“You aren’t as observant as I would’ve hoped.”

Her eyes narrowed, a scowl settling on her face. “Did you really follow me to judge me, is that it?”

Claude’s eyes widened briefly before he threw his head back in a laugh. “No, can’t say that was my original plan.” 

His tone caused a crawling feeling to travel down her spine, making her shiver. “Well then? Humor me, if you’d be so kind.”

The smile vanished. “I can’t say I quite get you yet, which bothers me. I’d like to say I’m a relatively good judge of character, but you? You’re a big blank to me.”

“And you chose to interrogate me now because…?”

A low chuckle escaped him. “Just felt appropriate I guess,” he drawled, his head raising to casually scan the clearing in the forest around them. “Didn’t want little miss Emperor interrupting our nice chat.”

Byleth couldn’t stop her eyes rolling at the statement– both the ridiculous phrasing and the truth behind it irritating her. It was true that the princess frequented Byleth’s company, but the former mercenary found herself lacking complaints. The attention and company was nice for a change.

The lack of noise from Byleth prompted him to continue his thought. “It’s a shame really,” he sighed as his eyes flew back to the arrow in his hand while the other made its way to the bow resting on his shoulder. “If only you had chosen the Golden Deer, I think we could’ve gotten along quite well.”

As quickly as he drew the string, he released; her eyes flew open, her mind registering the arrow flying in her direction. Her body moved on its own, her shoulder dipping onto the ground as she rolled out of the way. A grunt escaped her from the sudden impact and Byleth scrambled to retrieve the sword that fell from its place on her hip.

Her head snapped up, a nervous feeling bubbling in her chest at the realization that Claude was no longer in front of her, having moved so quickly. A crunching sound behind her caught her attention as she jerked around and raised her sword, blocking the strike of the bow coming down on her. Claude pressed, a flash of his own annoyance crossing his features.

“Surprising- you caught me there.”

Byleth shoved suddenly, forcing Claude to stumble back himself. He planted his feet and as quickly as he had the first time, drew an arrow from his quiver, pulled back, and released. 

She dodged more gracefully this time around, having eliminated his advantage of the distraction and surprise, before launching forward. Her sword swept from the side and Claude’s own eyes widened as he performed his own roll out of the way. Settling on one knee, he cocked another arrow at the girl as she held her sword defensively in front of her body.

“Can’t say this is the most fair fight I’ve ever been apart of,” he chuckled lowly, his eyes refusing to leave hers.

She scoffed. “Well, that’s your fault for bringing a bow to a sword fight.”

Another laugh. “I’m not much of an up-close-and-personal fighter, I must admit. Prefer to keep my distance.” 

The standstill held for few more beats before the Golden Deer leader heaved a sigh, rising to stand; he lazily slung the bow back over his shoulder. The movement caused Byleth to stumble with confusion. “That’s it?”

He blinked at her before shrugging. “I’m at a clear disadvantage. Unless I gain enough distance between us, it would take only a few strikes before you break my bow and disarm me. I’d rather save myself the trouble.”

Figures he would take the easy way out.

“Not a great example you’re setting there,” she chastised, allowing herself to settle into a more relaxed position but opting for keeping her sword out. The brunette offered a grin.

“Nobody was around to watch our little dance. Which by the way, I enjoyed very much, milady,” adding a dramatic bow to his comment. The boy constantly amazed her with how he presented himself.

He turned his attention to the winding path. “As much as I enjoyed our rendezvous, I think it’s time for me to move on.” 

She tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “That’s it? You’re done?”

“Oh don’t be fooled- I’m not done with the mock battle. I just think my house stands a better chance of winning if I go thin out everyone else and leave some other unlucky individual to handle you.”

Byleth feels herself frown. “You’re really something else, Von Riegan.”

He flashes her another lazy grin. “No need to get insulting now. And now, I shall depart. Until next time, Eisner.”

Topping it off with a wink, he turns on his heel and begins a light jog, disappearing through the trees. Byleth allows a light sigh to escape her, shaking her head as she returns her sword to its home on her hip. She begins her own steady pace back towards the large field in hopes of ending the battle soon before sundown.

Her hand moves to the other side of her to find the holster empty, causing her to freeze in her tracks. The dagger placed there was missing, and she whipped around to see if it had fallen out during her duel with the golden boy. She was greeted by the empty field, delude of anything unusual. Suddenly getting smacked upside the head, she became aware of her daggers new location.

“That Claude, I swear,” she huffed under her breath, resuming her stroll back towards the main site of the battle. Her eyes drifted to the sky, admiring the pinks and oranges blending together as the day reached its peak, and she found herself struggling to suppress her thoughts from drifting to a certain golden boy.

**Author's Note:**

> I think I want to continue this concept- I'll play around with more ideas and hopefully some love with bloom for our precious kiddos. I would die for this ship and student!Byleth because I want more of that AU, that is all.


End file.
